Painting Leaf Spring?

[Bills37]

I'm getting started on building up a 37 Chief. Should I disassemble the leaf spring and powder coat them indivually or as unit. Any advice on dealing with this front end would be appreciated. Thanks.

[cowtowngil]

Painting Leaf Springs

Hey Bills37,
I'm wondering the same thing with my Chief sidecar springs. I'm thinking of disassembling then powdercoat just the portions of the leafs that are exposed, then apply a spray-on dry film lube to the surfaces of the leafs that will be in contact with each other. It seems that powdercoating all the leafs and then reassembling could make for some fitment problems due to the added thickness of the powdercoat? Any leaf spring gurus out there?

[Rubone]

Powder coating individual leaves is a very bad idea. The leaves in the spring needs to slide against one another and powder coating (and paint as well) will prevent that from happening and turn the front end into a solid, no slip, bone jarring, part breaking mess. Clean the spring up, Paint he exterior surfaces and oil it up a little for slip. Your bike and your body will thank you. Powder coating is for lawn furniture!
Robbie

[exeric]

I agree with Rub about powder coat. It is an inappropriate finish for an antique motorcycle. Modern urethan enamals are super tough and look like paint. not plastic. I disassembled the spring pack on my '40 Chief and painted the individual leafs. I re-assembled it and made a new rivet for the clip in front and a new headless rivet at the back of the spring pack. I re-painted it as an assembly to make it look nice. If you don't paint the inside of the leaves it will bleed rust. I don't remember if I put any lubricant between the leaves. If I did, it's long gone now. I just rode the Chief last Sunday and it handled beautifully.

[Bills37]

Thanks for the advice. Just the sort of insight that I needed. Will need to separate leaves for blasting. The remarks about powder coating has made me reconsider that idea. Again, thanks for the info.

[exeric]

Just as an aside. I restored a H-D sidecar and painted the leaf springs without dis-assembling them. I'm not saying you should or shouldn't take them apart. I was just lazy and anxious to get it on the road. Anyways; the first time the springs got wet, they bled rust and looked terrible. My fix was to spray them with WD-40 whenever it bothered me.

[swall]

Powder coating could be done sucessfully, coating the individual leaves, masking off areas that do not show. The powder coaters have special mylar tape for this. Prior to re-assembly, grease the mating spring surfaces for proper function.Of course, proper prep work, like sand blasting is essential for a good coating. Powder coat can handle the flexing of the spring--it is done on millions of OEM vehicles for coil springs.

[Tom Lovejoy]

I took my springs apart and painted each, like as been said. I did not oil them except alittle wd40 between the leaves, so far no problems at all with chipping or rust. Of course it's stored inside though. I wonderd when I did it if the paint would chip, it has not so far. Good luck on your's.

[redfred84]

Leafers

I always thought that the layered leaf springs rely on some form of friction to perform, above & beyond their spring tension? I've done many an automotive spring, but applied a teflon layer between each leaf. A smoother, softer ride (sometimes too soft), but unrestricts the spring tension anyway. We don't want our sacred leafs cracking or breaking!
I've done most angles at restoring/getting the beast going. Despite if I dis-assemble each leaf, paint, and re-assemble, with a slight grease, or just rattle can a coat of my favorite color over the entire mess, the all-curing factor is a wrap/bra/gator over the spring.
These leather corsets keep the lube in, and the dirt OUT. Plus, they hide the fact that one may actually have the incorrect spring in there! Did I just say that?
Well suspended, RF.

[swall]

With a multi leaf spring, there is friction between the leaves, which want to slide as the spring bends. This friction provides damping, but an uneven friction surface leads to stiction. Lubrication helps the sliding to be easier, reducing stiction. Un-lubricated leaves can also be squeaky and the auto manufacturers have gone to great lengths to eliminate this noise, using the plastic shims and special lubes. Greasing will also help prevent unsightly rust residue from getting on the edges of the freshly painted springs as long as the grease holds up. For the most part, it is probably not a big deal one way or the other.

[Chris Haynes]

stiction.???

[Knotthed]

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stiction


Main Entry: stic·tion
Pronunciation: \ˈstik-shən\
Function: noun
Etymology: static + fromiction
Date: 1946
: the force required to cause one body in contact with another to begin to move